The Spurs came onto the biggest stage in basketball and encountered a team that was tough as nails mentally and physically. Jalen Brunson took a licking and kept on ticking, and Karl-Anthony Towns got to every loose ball and turned them into points. The Spurs had some great performances as Dylan Harper was able to get to the hoop on demand, and Julian Champagnie hit some great shots, while Wembanyama was off with his shot, Fox had a tough night. The Spurs were able to come back and lead by a point with 2 minutes left in the game, but were put away by the Knicks 11-0 closing kick as the visitors took home court away from the favored Spurs.
For the Spurs to beat the Knicks, they are going to need Wembanyama to dominate, because the Knicks have so many good players that they can neutralize the rest of the Spurs roster, and if De’Aaron Fox can’t hit his shots, it’s a bad night for the Silver and Black. Hats off to Jalen Brunson, who didn’t let some poor shooting to start off discourage him, as the Knicks took over the game in the last two minutes left the home court fans bereft, except for a loud Knicks fan contingent who were ecstatic with their team’s road victory.
It was a tough night for the Silver and Black, but not the first time they’ve lost the opening game of a playoff series, and they’ve been able to overcome it before in the Timberwolves series. They’re going to have to do it again if they want to win the championship, and they will need to break the Knicks 12 game winning streak on Friday night to get started on that task. Four more wins, people, and that starts with the first one in Game 2 in a couple of days.